LeBron James' NBA record: How will it help British basketball?

For a lot of British NBA fans it was a very early start to watch LeBron James become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

03:00 GMT to be exact.

James scored 38 points to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record of 38,387, which was set in 1989.

The LA Lakers actually lost the match - not that anyone remembers - but their star man now sits on top with 38,390.

But will his feat help basketball in Great Britain?

LeBron James broke the record with 10.9 seconds left of the third quarter against Oklahoma City Thunder

"These historic moments will hopefully have a trickle down effect," basketball journalist Huw Hopkins tells BBC Newsbeat.

"It's great for the game over here.

"So it will engage people who might have been playing basketball at school. It's said to be the second most played team sport among teenagers in the UK."

The British Basketball League has seen a rise in attendances - with the play-off finals selling out last year.

"The premier team at the moment is the London Lions, both the men's and women's side, they've recently had some an injection of cash with new ownership," Huw says.

"And they're bringing in former NBA players and NBA level players."

Former NBA player Sam Dekker currently plays for London Lions

The British Basketball League has already received a boost in recent years.

A business group from Miami - who own the London Lions team - purchased a 45% stake in it for £7m in December 2021.

The men's team is also captained by former Love Islander Ovie Soko.

"Hopefully if people are inspired by this, they might reach out to local clubs and and they can play the game outside of school, college or university," Huw says.

James' own impact on the UK sports scene is already pretty significant.

The Lakers' star has shares in Premier League side Liverpool - repping them loads on social media.

Josh Coyne, from YouTube channel House of Bounce, says James is usually the "entry point" for people getting into the sport in the UK.

"There was real hype last year over here in the UK because both of LeBron's sons (Bronny and Bryce James) played in a college basketball game in London," he says.

"That arena was completely full.

"A large part of that was the fact that people thought LeBron might be in attendance at the game - he wasn't and the event was fantastic anyway."

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